BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Oregon inside linebacker Bryce Boettcher was announced on Monday as the winner of the 2024 Burlsworth Trophy, presented to the nation’s most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on.
Boettcher becomes the first player in program history to win the award. He was announced as the winner at a ceremony held at Crystal Bridges Museum, with his family on hand along with Oregon head coach Dan Lanning and inside linebackers coach Brian Michalowski.
“As my grandpa would say, this is the Heisman of walk-ons,” Boettcher said in his acceptance speech. “And probably a little more impressive for all of those walk-ons out there who know what it’s like.”
A dual-sport standout at Oregon in football and baseball, Boettcher joined the football team in 2022 and has become the leading tackler for the undefeated and top-ranked Ducks as a senior. Boettcher was selected to the all-Big Ten second team by both the league’s coaches and the media while helping to lead Oregon to the first 13-0 start in program history, the Big Ten Championship and the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff.
A Eugene native, Boettcher leads Oregon this season with 87 total tackles while adding 8.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and four pass breakups. He has been the Ducks’ leading tackler in six of 13 games and has at least five tackles in each of his last seven contests, including six straight with at least seven tackles.
Boettcher was named the Burlsworth Trophy Walk-On of the Week after Oregon’s 49-14 win at Oregon State on Sept. 14. The Eugene native finished the game with a career-high 11 total tackles, most by a Duck this season. He matched that number in Oregon’s regular-season finale against rival Washington while adding a career-high 2.0 TFLs, a sack and his second career forced fumble. A 13th-round pick by the Houston Astros in the 2024 MLB Draft, Boettcher played in 188 career games (82 starts) for the Oregon baseball team, hitting .242 with 14 home runs, nine doubles, 48 RBIs, 83 runs scored and 27 stolen bases.
Boettcher enjoyed a breakout senior season on the diamond in 2024, batting .276 with a career-high 12 home runs while driving in 35 runs and leading the team with 46 runs scored. Defensively, the center fielder became the fifth player in program history to be named to the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team.
